Stippling_(dentistry)

Photograph of the upper left quandrant, showing teeth #4-8, with a DO amalgam on #5. The stippled surface texture of the attached gingiva can be observed. Note how there is no stippling on the marginal gingiva, which is the millimeter or so of gingiva immediately adjacent to the teeth. Click on this photo to see the stippling in greater detail.

The gingiva often possess a textured surface that is referred to as being stippled.Carranza\'s Clinical Periodontology, 9th Ed., W.B. Saunders, 2002, page 30. Stippling only presents on the attached gingiva bound to underlying alveolar bone, not the freely moveable alveolar mucosa. Stippling used to be thought to indicate health, but it has since been shown that smooth gingiva is not an indication of disease, unless it is smooth due to a loss of previously existing stippling.

Stippling is a consequence of the microscopic elevations and depressions of the surface of the gingival tissue due to the connective tissue projections within the tissue.Carranza\'s Clinical Periodontology, 9th Ed., W.B. Saunders, 2002, page 30. "The degree of keratinization and the prominence of stippling appear to be related."Carranza\'s Clinical Periodontology, 9th Ed., W.B. Saunders, 2002, page 30.

References

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v • d • e Periodontology and Implant Dentistry
Tissues of the periodontium and their physiologic entities	Alveolar bone - Biologic width - Cementum - Free gingival margin - Gingiva - Gingival fibers - Gingival sulcus - Junctional epithelium - Mucogingival junction - Periodontal ligament - Sulcular epithelium - Stippling
Pathogenesis	A. actinomycetemcomitans - B. forsythus - Capnocytophaga sp. - F. nucleatum - P. gingivalis - P. intermedia - T. denticola
Pathologic entities	Calculus - Edentulism - Fremitus - Gingival enlargement - Gingival pocket - Gingivitis - Horizontal bony defect - Occlusal trauma - Periodontal pocket - Periodontal disease - Plaque - Recession - Vertical bony defect
Diagnosis, treatment planning, prevention and chemotherapeutic agents	Brushing - Bleeding on probing - Chlorhexidine gluconate - Flossing - Hydrogen peroxide - Mouthwash - Oral hygiene - Tetracycline - Triclosan
Periodontal armamentarium	Curette - Membrane - Probe - Scaler
Conventional therapy	Debridement - Scaling and root planing
Surgical therapy and periodontal surgery	Apically positioned flap - Bone graft - Coronally positioned flap - Crown lengthening - Flap debridement - Free gingival graft - Gingivectomy - Guided bone regeneration - Guided tissue regeneration - Implant Placement - Lateral pedicle graft - Pocket reduction surgery - Sinus lift - Subepithelial connective tissue graft
Other specialties	Endodontology - Orthodontology - Prosthodontology

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